1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle sun visors having lighting devices in conjunction with mirrors and mirror covers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various types of sun visors are known, such as a sun visor disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-276984. The sun visor of this publication has a visor body and a mirror unit associated with the visor body. The mirror unit includes a mirror and a mirror cover that is vertically pivotally mounted to an upper edge of the mirror. The mirror cover can move between an upwardly pivoted position (i.e., an opened position) in order to uncover the reflective surface, and a downwardly pivoted position (i.e., a closed position) in order to cover the reflective surface.
A lighting device is mounted to a surface of the mirror cover. This surface faces a driver or a passenger when the mirror cover is in the opened position. An ON/OFF switch is assembled to a pivotal shaft of the mirror cover. The switch is turned on and off in response to the pivotal movement of the mirror cover. A slide switch is mounted to a side edge of the mirror in order to enable the adjustment of the intensity of the light emitted from the lighting device. In this way, the lighting device may be turned on when the mirror cover has been pivoted upward to the opened position. In addition, the light intensity may be adjusted by operating the slide switch.
However, according to the sun visor disclosed in the above publication, the ON/OFF switch and the slide switch are separately provided. Therefore, the construction of the sun visor is complicated. In addition, the operability is degraded because each of the above switches must be separately operated.